Buy when everyone else is selling and hold until everyone else is buying. That's not just a catchy slogan. It's the very essence of successful investing.
The real wisdom here isn't the backward trading strategy itself—plenty of people know to buy low—but Getty's diagnosis of *why* most investors fail: they mistake the herd's confidence for truth. When markets collapse and your neighbors are panic-selling, your gut screams danger, yet that very discomfort signals opportunity. During the 2008 financial crisis, investors who could stomach buying when bank stocks seemed worthless saw those positions triple within five years, while those who waited for reassuring headlines bought near the peak. Getty understood that successful investing demands a peculiar kind of courage: the ability to feel genuinely alone in your conviction.